Wednesday, 7 December 2011

Once with happier surroundings, this section now houses a large crowded Negro population living in most unsanitary conditions, Washington, D.C.

Slums near the Capitol, Washington, D.C. With the Capitol clearly in view, these houses exist under the most unsanitary conditions; outside privies, no inside water supply and overcrowded conditions

Old wooden shacks on left of picture inhabited by whites and Negroes. Many of these houses have no inside water supply or toilet. Washington, D.C.

One of few available houses for rent. Washington, D.C. One of the few available houses for rent under the crowded conditions. A study of the structure, however, will explain why there is no one now living in it

Negro backyard near Capitol, Washington, D.C. Negro children have just discovered the cameraman and are concerned at his presence

12 comments:

One of the things that strikes me about these photos, perhaps in a somewhat banal way, is how they visualize the ill-fitting aspects of poverty. I'm thinking in terms of (secondhand, at best clothes), that fall from the shoulders and/or drape too low to the ground, and that defy pretenses of decorum and attentions to detail; or wooden fence posts weather-worn beyond any reasonable utility; walls desiccated by neglect that don't so much provide privacy as they do reminders of where you're at. Poverty, it seems is an ill-fitting reality we've never found a proper place for. For this, history has shown, there are recurring repercussions.

What a transformation. The “poor whites” are gone to some decrepit elsewhere, but those houses in the background, where said “poor whites” are playing and hanging out, are still there and cost mucho bucks these days, Georgetown being an historic district and all, an address much coveted by the power elite. One could probably say the same for buildings in Northeast, around the Capitol. This scam was once passed off as urban renewal, when it was really urban displacement. The great churning of property . . . Thanks for the reminder, Tom.

Extraordinary shots for an extraordinary blog. I love this graphic documents that, despite being from not too long ago, are already so hard to find unless someone does the job of putting them together for all to learn and enjoy.'Best

These reminded me of the run-down rooming house my family lived in from 1948-1955—on the floor above a tavern owned by a Greek relative on the main street of a town that was once one of Washington State’s most infamous—primarily because it had more taverns per foot than any other town and because of its numerous “bawdy” houses.

We were the only family—three rooms—the rest of the rooms on the first floor were rented out to bachelors of various ages but all on the skids, so to speak and of course only one communal toilet.

Not a healthy environment in which to grow up, so why do I have such good memories of it?

There's a stark collision of worlds, world views, and just-plain "views" in this shadow-of-the-Capitol drama.

That ominous roominghouse-stairway interior, when I found it, was the signal that keyed me in on this image search.

Having discovered that shot, and reflecting then upon the dark inner-sanctum descent it suggested, I went through the original Carl Mydans "Lots" (the image groups -- over a hundred images have survived in this "Lot", preserved in the archive in random fashion, so that the ordering as we now have it was my own editing-selection); one thing led to another, and... here we are.

Marcos, I had been waiting for three years for somebody to ask that question!

The marginal animal-totem drawings were done by me. They come from a little book I did in 2000. Some more of them (and some of the poems they were done to accompany) can be found here:

But here's the funny thing, there is in fact and indeed an American national epic. It's hidden away in the 161,600 negatives of the collection from which the photos on this post, and the one below it, came. I say hidden away, but I mean readily accessible.

(Unless the traffic gets too congested, that is... what with Justin Bieber and Jacques Derrida crowding the aisles...)

Thanks, Ed. Yes, I too appreciated Hazen's local knowledge. And this was not the first time. Nor, for that matter, the first place.

The normal run of the cognoscenti is one thing, but... to have a beautiful and exotic European movie star visiting one's blog under cover like that... well, let's simply say it's quite an honour. And leave it at that.